Floor rack for refrigerator cars



Jan. 20, 1953 w. H. KELr-:HER

FLOOR RACK FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed March 27 1950 INV ENTOR J William H. Kel Eh E1", m. if

ATTORNEY.

W. H. KELEHER FLOOR RACK FOR REFRIGERATOR CARS Jan, 20, 1953 Filed Maren 27, 1950 4. Sheets-Sheet 2 Nik/wl QCD DE u u D mm D wrm D m u ww mii #fum wm nn l .Q ,w\ Q n I v E wrm vh P INVENTOR William H Kaleh er! Y C.. ATTORNEY,

Jan 20, 1953 w. H. KELEHER- FLOOR RACK FOR REFRIGERTOR CARS Filed March 27, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEY Jan. 20, 1953 w. H4. KELEHER FLOOR RACK Foa REFRIGERATOR CARS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March 27, 1950 INVENTOR @Vlnr-lrrmmV/w CO7 Y? William HKElx-Eher,

ATTORNEY Patented Jan. 20, 1953 UNITED STATES PAT-:ENT: OFFICE l' c i o 2,625,889r c FLooR RACKYFOR REFmGEnaroR CAR l Y William H. Keleher, Chicago; Ill. Application March 27, 195o, serial naisaisv 14 Claims? (Cl. 10S- 375) i This invention relates to insulated refrigerator carsforshipping'perishable food products .and

other products of various ykinds and preserving them during shipmentfromdeterioration or decay. More particularly the invention relates to floor racks or false oors for such refrigerator cars' which support Athe lading in the car in spaced relation to the insulated oor of the car so 'o that air, cooled by a refrigerant or heated by a heater, may be 'circulated through the car and'allowed' tol pass under the lading and up through the false floor and lading to keep the lading in proper condition duringoshipment.

The racks or false oors heretoforey in use havefusually lconsisted of rack sections hinged to the side walls of the car so as to be raised and secured in raised position to allowthe car to be cleaned, each rack section being formed of stringers rlmning longitudinally of the car and resting on the floor and provided with an upper load bearing surface comprising spaced slats or plates perforated to allow air circulation upward therethrough and through the lading." These racks are supported in load-bearing position by their stringers which rest directly on the vcar iioor'to support the lading at the desired elevation above:

the car floor.

Up to the advent of the car wheel-driven,iioor` j located,V air Acirculating fans,` now almost uni-1 versallyused in equipping new refrigerator cars, the floor racks generally used consisted of lateral wood slats 3" or 4" in width, and approximately 1" to 11/2 thick, running transversely of. the

car 'and supported on and xedly attached to four. 2" xv 4 wood stringers running longitudinally of the car. The individual sectionsV of floor racks extend from side wall to center line of car, and are of such lengths as to be liftable by one man. In being lifted, they are rotated from the horizontal position to the vertical position and hooked up to the side walls of the car so that refuse may be swept from beneath the racks and out of the doorways of the car. With the advent of the floor rack fan, which required oorracks 7% in height in order to properly house its impellers, it became necessary to build oor racks of height equal to the fan housing so that the lading can be placed on a plane uninterrupted by difierences in levels. This increase in height necessarily adds to the weight of the floor rack because the stringers, whether they be of steel or Wood, have to be increased in height and have to be strengthened, which means greater sectional area to prevent buckling under. column action.

With labor costs of loading and unloading cars increasing, shippers have resorted to more and more mechanized load handling equipment, in an attempt to keep their costs down. The use of ,this equipment, together with the use of larger door openings in the past few years on refrigerator cars,y has resulted in the use of lift trucks and fork trucks in loading and unloading the cars. These trucksV are `of considerablel weight in themselves and have large load carrying capacities in relation to their size. The use of these trucks has resulted in high wheel-load concentrations, which result in the need for far sturdier floor racks than have been used in the past, and againresults in a sharp upward increase in the weight of the door racks.

For the two above named reasons, namely, the increase in height of the iloor racks to accommodatemfloor type fansA and because of the additional strength needed in the floor `racks to support concentrations of weight due to the use of lift trucks and fork trucks, oor racks have increased from 50% to `100% in weight over those used av few :years ago, and there is every reason to believe that rack weights have not as yet reached their top gure because refrigerator car doors have, up to the present, been limited almost generally to 4 clear widths. As'greater door.openingsare'allowed both in width and heightflarger trucks will be afforded entry with attendant higher empty and loaded weights. Consequently increased iioor rack weights will follow. Y

vrTo keep pace with the increasing weights of oorrrapcks, refrigerator car designers have resorted tomore sections and shorter sections in orderto not overtax the'people who must lift them and attach'them to the side walls of the car priorv to cleaning beneath the floor racks.

A newer and costlier method of aiding the car cleaners in raising the heavy racks has been suggested, and is in the trial stage. This innovation is'the use of torsion bar springs at the side wall hinges of the oor racks to counter-balance some of the weight of the racks.

During the past years, the use of ice directly in contact with the lading, in fruit and vegetable cars, has'become more andmore prevalent. The melting of this ice in the body of the car has necessitated refrigerator car'design with waterproof floor coverings. This problem has been met by the use of membrane waterproofed fioors made up by built-up layers of felt and car coring cement of .asphaltic base. With conventional floor racks, there is a certain amount of slack or play in the side wall hinges which results in movement of the oor racks on the oor due to vibration and to impacts when the car is struck in the loaded or unloaded state. This movement of the floor rack stringers on the membrane waterproofed floors results in a wearing through of the membrane, with the result that the waterproofing is impaired and water gets beneath the membrane oor, rots the contiguous wood floor, and nds its way into the insulation below the main floor, reducing its insulating value materially, causes deterioration of the insulation, and results in a greater ice or heating fuel consumption depending on the season of the year. Y

The objects of my invention are to overcome these objections to prior rack structures, andto provide a false floor or rack construction which (1) entirely prevents or reduces wear on the Aoor due to shifting of the racks and injury to the car floor by rubbing contact of the racks or their stringers therewith, (2) which provides a rack construction of required high-level and embodying rack sections of sufficient strength to support heavy lading but of light weight to enable them to be easily raised and lowered, and (3) to provide a novel construction and arrangement of racks which will permit ready and convenient cleaning of the oor and other parts of the interior of the car.

With these and other objects in view, which will appear in the course of the subjoined description, the invention consists of the novel features of construction, combination and arrangement of parts, hereinafter more fully described, set forth in the appended claims, and shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Cil

Fig. 1 is a typical sectional plan view of a refrigerator car provided with oor racks embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a similar view, on an enlarged scale, showing the racks on one side of the longitudinal center of the car and between the bunker bulkhead at one end of the car and the doorway at said side of the car and including the middle. or doorway racks at such side.

Fig. 3 is a plan View of that portion of the car shown in Fig. 2 with the rack sections removed to show the fixed supporting stringers on which the slatted rack sections rest in let down position.

Fig. 4 is a Vertical longitudinal section on an enlarged scale taken substantially on line 4 4 of Fig. 2. Y

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, but taken in a different vertical plane, showing the manner in which a doorway rack section is foldable over upon the adjacent intermediate rack section to which it is hinged to expose the portion of the car floor normally covered by said doorway rack section.

Fig. 5a is a sectional plan View showing the manner in which an intermediate rack section and a doorway rack section hinged to it are foldable to an up-position against a side wall of the car.

Fig. 6 is a vertical transverse section, on an enlarged scale taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 2, through a portion of the car at one side of its center, showing in full and dotted lines one of the intermediate slatted rack sections in its folded and suppporting positions, respectively.

Fig. 7 is a similar view, taken on line 1 1 of Fig. 2, looking toward one of the doorway racks, and showing the same in let down position.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on line 8-8 of Fig. 2.

Figs. 9 and 10 are, respectively, a top plan view and a bottom plan View, on an enlarged scale, of one of the slatted rack sections.

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 6 showing a modification in which a rack is formed of independent bottom and top hinged units each mounted to swing upwardly and downwardly to inoperative and lading supporting positions.

Fig. 12 is a similar view showing in supporting position another modied form of rack of the type shown in Fig. 11.

Referring now more particularly to Figs. 1 to 10inclusive, of the drawings, 1 designates an insulated railway refrigerator car of any general conventional or suitable type and which comprises a bottom wall or floor 2, end walls 3 and side walls fi, each provided with a doorway 5, air conditioning (car cooling or heating) bunkers 6 including bulkheads 'I arranged at the ends of the car, and circulating fan housings 8 arranged at the ends of the car adjacent to and spaced inwardly from the bulkheads. The doorways 5, as shown, are arranged midway between the end walls, but may be otherwise arranged, and the bunkers and bulkheads may be of any suitable construction or of the type shown in my prior application, Serial No. 55,599, filed October 20, 1948, in which the bulkhead is provided at its base with a doorway, normally closed by a gate, and which where the gate is opened allows access from the lading space of the car to the space below lthe bottom of the bunker for ease of cleaning, repairs and other conveniences.

In the form of the invention disclosed in Figs. 1 to l0, inclusive, the portions of the false floor or rack between the doorways and fan housings are composed of fixed or stationary base supporting means or sections and hinged slatted rack sections adapted to rest thereon and to be supported thereby. The base supporting means comprises sets of metal stringers 9 arranged in spaced relation to each other transversely of the car and extending longitudinally at opposite sides of the car between the car center and the housings 8. These stringers, which may bei made of steel, aluminum or other suitable metal, have their lower 'flange portions xed to the car floor 2 and preferably terminate at their inner ends in line with the sidesY of the doorways, thus providing clear air circulating and cleaning channels` I El betweenvr adjacent stringers and an aisle or clear cleaning space I I between the doorways, with which space the channels communicate to allow all dirt and refuse to be readily swept out through the doorways in cleaning the car oor.

The stringers 9 are provided to support the intermediate slatted rack sections of the sets of rack sections employed to support the lading, such sets of slatted rack sections comprising intermediate rack sections I2, doorway rack sections I3, and end or bulkhead rack sections I4.

The sets of intermediate rack sections I 2, which are designed to cover the space between the doorway and fan housing at each side of the car, may be three in number in each set, as shown, or of any suitable number, to secure desired strength with lightness of weight, and each of these rack sections is formed of longitudinal stringers I5, spaced transverse slats I6 and diagonal braces Il bolted, riveted, or otherwise rigidly connected together. These aluminum) or a combination of these materials,

and the arrangement of the stringers VI is'such` that when the sections I2 are disposed in horizontal lading supporting position they will rest on the base stringers Swhich will support the sections I2 above vthe floor and at the same or substantially the same level as the tops of the fan housings 8. The sections I2 of each set at each side of the car are connected at their outer side edges to the adjacent side wall of the car by double butt hinges I8 and single butt hinges I9, which adapt them to be swung upward against theside of the car and to be secured in upraised position by suitable means, such as a latch hook on each rackv section engageable' with a keeper 2l on the side wall. In order to secure a rm support for the inner side edges of the let down rack sections I2 at each side of the car the center base stringer 9 is widened by providing it with a seat plate 22, which is welded to its upper flange portion A and extends laterally at each side of the Stringer to give adequate support to the inner side edges of the sections I2 resting thereon. By making the rack sections I2 independent of the stringers or base supports 9 the weight of each rack section, which may be of any convenient size, maybe reduced to a sufficient degree to allow it to be easily swung up and down to inoperative and operative position, at a saving of time and labor on the part of workmen, while when let down the rack sections will be supported at the proper level above the car floor by the stringers which will sustain them iirmly against the weight of loading trucks and the weight of lading. When the rack sections I2 are so supported in let down position spaces or channels will be provided below and between the' slats of the false floor vfor Ventilating purposes, while when the rack sections are supported' in upraised position such spaces or channels will befexposed to allow the car floor to be readily and conveniently swept or otherwise cleaned.

Inorder to provide a sufficiently strong and light rack flooring across the doorway aisle or space II, four comparatively small and `light weight rack sections I3, arranged as shown, are preferably employed- Each ofthese rack sections yis of a. construction similar tothat of the rack sections I2, that is, formed of body stringers I5', slats I6 and diagonal reinforcing members I'I., but to each of the body stringers of each of theracks I3 is xedly secured a bottom Stringer 23 adapted to rest on the car floor and support the same in let down position. These bottom stringere 23 may be short vbeams or feet made of light weight metal, such as aluminum, so that each of these racks I3, because of its small size and light weight as compared, for example, with a main rack section, may be easily handled. These rack sections I3 are hinged at their end edges to the adjacent rack sections I2 by double acting hinges 24, adapting each section I3 to be swung over upon the-'section I2, as show in Fig. 5, or swung inwardly and upwardly with the section I2 to which' it is hinged and folded upon the section I2 to lie in an upraised position against the underside of the section I2, as shown in Fig. 5a. lWhen the sections I3 are swung over on sections I2 or swung upward and secured with the sections I2 in raised position the space II will be fully exposed for floor sweeping or other cleaning actions.

` lrllhe bulkhead rack sections I4 may be generally similar in construction to the doorway rack,v sections,l that`is,each may be formed' of 'body' stringers I5, slats IIia and bottom stringers or hinges 25 to adapt it to be supported from the f floor 2 by the stringers or feet 23a and to lbe swung upward to rest upon the fan housing or to be secured to the car side walls. When in let down position the rack sections I4 form loading supports between the fan housings and bulkheads which lie at the same level as the fan housings and other slatted sections of the false floor. When in raised position the sections I4 uncover the car floor spaces between the bulkheads and fan housings to allow access to the drip chambers of the ice bunkers and to said spaces for convenience in conducting clean out, repairs or replacement operations; and as each section I4 is of comparatively small dimensions longitudinally of the car, and as the stringers or feet 23a may be made of light weight metal, said sections I4 may be arranged to extend fully across the car without makingY them of vprohibitive weight, so that they may be easily handled.

From the forego-ing description it will be apparent that the invention as thus far described provides a false floor or floor rack having manifold advantages. As the base stringers 9, which support the slatted sections at a proper level above the car floor, are fixed to the car `floor against movement and are not raised and lowered with the slatted sections, no shifting of the base supports on or relative to the car floor can occur to cause abrasion or other injury to the car floor, while at the same time this structure permits of the use of slatted or f-oraminous rack sections which will be rmly supported in lading supporting position and which are light in weight so that they may be quickly raised and lowered with ease and convenience by car cleaners or workmen.

Thus the increase in height'of the false oor up to the weight of the floor rack sections and without loss of strength of the false floor, as the racks themselves when resting on the bottom stringers will be firmly sustained to prevent breakage or buckling under the weight of loaded trucks or heavy lading. Also as the use of wooden bottom stringers secured to the rack sections is dispensed with, and as the stringers 9, of metal, are fixed to the car floor, the stated disadvantages attendant to the use of wooden stringers subject to injury or decay, or stringers free to shift on the car floor, are avoided and a construction provided which allows ready cleaning of the car and sweeping of all refuse out of the doorways. As, with the exception of that part of the floor area across the car between the doorways, all friction between floor rack stringers and the vcar floor is eliminated by my construction, the floor insulation material of the flooring at all other portions of the floor area will rem-ain for a long period unimpaired, reducing the amount of ice or heating fuel consumption, depending on the season of the year. With regard to the doorway floor area covered by the rack sections I3, the part of` the membranous water-proof oor covering at this point is necessarily subjected to wearing friction from the rack stringers 23, which are xed to these rack sections to support them when they are let down and which must be lifted with the rack sections to leave an yunobstructed floor space in line with the doorways to permittrucking through the car andalso to permit of the ready sweeping out of refuse material swept into the doorway area from the channels formed by the stringers 9 fixed to the car floor. As, however, this doorway area forms only a small portion of the total car floor area, and is the only part of the floor area left vulnerable to wear on the membranous covering from rubbing contact with iioor stringers, the amount of repair Work and expense necessary to keep the membranous floor covering as a whole in good condition and to avoid damage to the body of the car floor is materially reduced as compared with prior rack installations in which the racks throughout the car are provided with stringers which rest directly `on the door to support the racks in let down position. Furthermore, with my construction all wear due to side wall hinge slack is confined to the wear between the upper load bearing false oor and the tops of the fixed floor stringers, which is not excessive and does not reduce the insulating value of the car.

In Figs. 1l and l2 are shown modified forms of the invention which allow light foraminous floor rack sections to be used with unitary base supporting sections, both mounted to swing, independently of each other, to up and down positions. As shown in Fig. 11 the slatted floor rack section IZa, which may be constructed and mounted in the same manner as the sections I2, is employed in connection with a base supporting or oor Stringer section 9 in which the metal floor stringers 9EL are free from connection with the oor and united by transverse channel beams 26 to form a base supporting unit connected to the car side wall by hinge members 21 to swing downward to rest on the car oor and support the rack section l2a and to swing upward against the inner side of the section lZa, parallel with the section I2a when the latter is swung upward, to expose the car door to allow it to be swept or otherwise cleaned. The section 9 may be held in its raised position by providing one or more of its transverse channel members with a keeper opening or openings 28 engageable by a fastening hook or hooks 29 on the associated rack section |2e. VThis construction allows the sections |23, 9a to be made of light weight so as to be easily handled while avoiding the necessity of securing any part of the false flooring to the car floor, and the hinge constructions of these sections may be such as to reduce hinge slack or play and injurious rubbing engagement between the base section and the car floor. Fig. l2 shows a construction of base-supporting unit 9b similar to the unit 9' of Fig. 11 except that the stringers 9 are of channel beam form and connected by channel beam cross members 26. Byr making the beams of the subsections 9', 9b of the false ooring of aluminum, base supports of light weight but adequate strength may be provided which are highly durable and may be manufactured and installed with slatted rack sections at a comparatively low cost. While the modified structures shown in Figs. 11 and 12 are not as desirable as that shown in Figs. `1 to l0, inclusive, in that they do not embody stringers fixed to the car floor to support the racks and entirely relieve 8 the Viioor from rack friction, they do embody distinct and important advantages over the racks at present in general use in that (1) the top and bottom sections can be lifted separately, so that they may be easily handled, (2) the bottom section when let down forms a rm support for the top or lading supporting section to hold the same at va fixed elevation above and against depression with relation to the oor, and 3) that the wearing friction is divided between the iioor and the Stringer tops with less damage to the floor than that done by the stringers of the racks now in general use. i Y

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings, the construction, modefof use and advantages of my improved oor rack will be readily understood and appreciated by those versed in the art without a further and extended description. It is to be understood, of course, that while I have shown the invention in its preferred forms, I do not limit the invention to those shown and described, as various modications thereof may bey employed, within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

l. In a false oor or rack for refrigerator cars, the combination, with a car body having a kfloor and vertical walls, of supporting means for rigidly supporting a rack from and at a fixed elevation above the floor, and a lading supporting rack formed independently of said supporting means and adapted to be supported thereby against depression in lading supporting position and hinged to the `car to swing independently of said supporting means to an upraised position adjacent one of the vertical Walls of the car.

2. In a false floor or rack for refrigerator cars, the combination, with a car body having a floor and vertical walls, of supporting stringers of rigid material extending longitudinally of the car in spaced relation to each other transverselyof the car and fixed against movement to the car oor, and a lading supporting rack formed independently of the stringers and hinged to the car to swing downwardly to rest on the stringers and to be supported thereby at a fixed elevation above the oor and vto be swung free therefrom to a raisedposition adjacent one of the vertical walls of the car.

3. In a false oor or rack for refrigerator cars, the combination with a car body having a iioor and vertical walls, of rigid supporting beams having supporting surfaces for supporting a rack from and at a xed elevation above the car oor, means connecting said supporting means with the car to hold said supporting means against depression to maintain their supporting surfaces at the fixed elevation above the floor, and a lading supportingV rack formed independently of said supporting beams and adapted torest thereon in lading supporting position and hinged to the car to swing independently of said supporting beams to an upraised position adjacent one of the vertical walls of the car.

4. In a false floor or rack for refrigerator cars, the combination, with a car body having a oor and vertical walls, of supporting stringers of I- beamform extending longitudinally of the car in spaced relation to each other transversely of the car and fixed against movement to the car door, and a lading supporting rack formed independently of the stringers and hing-ed )tothe car to swing downwardly t0 rest on the upper flanges of the stringers and to be swung free therefrom to a raised position adjacent one of the vertical walls of the car.

5. In a false iioor or rack for refrigerator cars, the combination, with a car .body having an insulated floor and insulated side walls, of supporting stringers comprising beams of rigid material extending longitudinally of the car in spaced relation between the side walls and having lower supporting surfaces resting on and fixed to the upper supporting surfaces ofthe stringers at a ,xed level above the floor.

- .i1 6, Ina false floor or rack for refrigerator oars,

a refrigerator car having a iloor, end walls, side walls, a doorway in each side wall, air conditioning bunkers adjacent the end walls and circulating fan housings arranged adjacent the inner sides of the lower ends of the bunkers and in communication therewith, transversely spaced longitudinally extending Ventilating channel forming and rack supporting beams extending longitudinally of the car between the fan housings and sides of the doorway space between the doorways and secured to the car floor, a plurality of foraminous main racks arranged at each side of the longitudinal center of the car on opposite sides of the space between the doorways and the fan housings and hinged to the respective side walls to swing upwardly lagainst ythe side walls and downwardly to rest on the beams at a fixed elevation above the floor, hinged racks at the ends of the car mounted to swing downwardly or upwardly to cover and uncover the floor space between the bunkers and fan housings, and racks arranged to cover the space between the doorways, said doorway racks being disposed on each side of the center of said space and each doorway rack being hinged to the adjacent main rack at the sam-e side of the doorway space to swing upwardly or downwardly with and into and out of parallel relation with the main rack in the upward and downward movements of the latter.

'7. In a false oor or rack for refrigerator cars, a refrigerator car having a floor, end walls, side walls and a doorway in each side wall, stringers extending longitudinally of the car between the end walls and sides of the doorway and in spaced relation to each other transversely of the car and terminating at their inner ends at opposite sides of the floor space between the doorways, said stringers being formed of rigid material and fixed to the car floor against shifting movements relative to the floor, main racks arranged at each side of the doorway at each side of the longitudinal center of the car, said main racks being independent of the stringers and each main rack being hinged to the adjacent side wall to swing upwardly or downwardly with relation to its side wall and the stringers and rest on the latter in lading supporting position, and racks arranged to cover the space transversely between the doorways and between the inner ends of the stringers at opposite sides of the doorway, said racks being movable to positions to cover and uncover the doorway space.

8. In a false floor o1' rack for refrigerator cars, a refrigerator car having a floor, end walls, side walls, a doorway in each side wall, air conditioning bunkers adjacent the end walls and circulating fan housings arranged adjacent the bunkers in spaced relation thereto and communicating therewith, stringers extending longitudinally of the car between the fan housings and opposite sides of the doorways and in spaced relation to each other transversely of the car, said stringers being fixed to the car oor and spaced from each other transversely of the car to form intervening air circulating channels, a plurality of foraminous main racks formed independent of the stringers and arranged at each side of the longitudinal center of the car on opposite sides of the space between the doorways and the fan housings, said main racks being hinged to the respective side walls to swing upwardly or downwardly with relation thereto and to the stringers and to rest on the latter in lading supporting position, hinged racks at the ends of the car mounted to swing downwardly or upwardly to cover and uncover the floor spaces between the bunkers and fan housings, and racks arranged to cover the space between the doorways, said doorway racks being disposed on each side of the center of said space and each doorway rack being hinged to the adjacent main rack at the same side of the doorway space to swing upwardly and downwardly with and into and out of parallel relation with the main rack in the upward and downward movements of the latter.

9. A refrigerator car having a fioor rack comprising a unitary base section adapted to rest on the car floor and including beams forming supporting stringers and connections rigidly uniting the same, and a foraminous lading supporting section formed independent of and adapted to rest in lading supporting position on the beams of the base section, said sections being free from connection with each other and hinged to the car side wall for upward or downward swinging movements independent of each other and so as to adapt the base section to be swung downward to rest on the car floor and the lading supporting section to be then swung downward to overlie the base section and rest on the supporting stringers thereof.

10. A refrigerator car having a floor rack comprising a unitary base section adapted to rest on the car floor and including channeled beam supporting stringers and connections rigidly uniting the same, and a foraminous lading supporting section formed independent of and adapted to rest in lading supporting position on the stringers of the base section, said sections being free from connection with each other and hinged to the car side wall for upward or downward swinging movements independent of each other and so as to adapt the base section to be swung downward to rest on the car floor and the lading supporting section to be then swung downward to overlie the base section and rest on the supporting stringers thereof.

l1. A floor rack of the construction set forth in claim 9 in which the rack sections are hinged to the car side wall at the same level.

12. A floor rack of the construction set forth in claim 9 in which the stringers are connected by channeled cross beams.

13. In a false car floor or rack for a refrigerator car having a iioor, end walls, side walls and a doorway in each side wall, said doorways being arranged opposite each other transversely of the car at a point in the length of the car, stringers car between the end walls and doorways and arranged in spaced relation to each other transversely of the car to form channels therebetween and terminating at their inner ends at opposite sides of the oor space extending across the car between the doorways, said stringers being xed to the car floor against vertical movements and horizontal shifting movements relative to the car floor, and a set of racks arranged at each side of the longitudinal center of the car between the end walls of the car and the doorways, said racks being independent of the stringers and hinged to the side walls to swing upwardly to vertical positions parallel with said walls or to swing downwardly from such positions to horizontal positions to rest on and be supported by the stringers at a 'xed elevation above and against depression relative to the floor.

14. In a false floor or rack for a car having side and end walls and a floor, means embodying rigid transversely spaced and longitudinally eX- tending channel forming stringers for supporting of rigid material extending longitudinally of thev "tracks from the oor and at an elevation thereabove, and foraminous racks independent ofthe stringers and hinged to the'-can'sidewaHsl to swing upwardly or downwardly toward and from the Ysame and adapted when swung downwardly to overlie the channels and rest upon the stringers. Y

` l WILLIAM I-I. KELE'HER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 538,439 Adamson Apr. 30, 1895 656,462 KirbyV Aug. 21, 1900 673,558 Kline May 7, 1901 683,264 Flemister Sept. 24, 1901 986,422 Bettendorf Mar. 7, 1911 1,772,720 Johnson Aug. 12, 1930 1,920,455 Zaun Aug. 1 ,1933 2,106,853 Olander Feb. 1, 1938 

